Hip Dysplasia - Alternative Treatments

[Pixie's mum]

Our 9 month old pup has suspected elbow dysplasia - nothing has shown up on his xrays yet however the specialist thinks it will within the next few months. Whilst we are willing to do whatever we need to for our pup we are hoping that surgery won't be necessary. We barf feed our dogs which I have read is beneficial and he is also on a few supplements recommended by the naturopath at www.greenpet.com.au They have been fantastic and cured our female's allergies about 18 months ago which prompted us to see if they could benefit our male.

They have him on technyflex capsules, ester c and two homeopathic remedies. They also recommended a reduced amount of bone meal and he is now on 1/3 raw meaty bones, 1/3 vegetables and 1/3 meat (mainly chicken, turkey and salmon). They also suggested we limit his red meat intake.

He's only been on the treatment for about a month and as yet there have been no drastic improvements however we figure it is worth a try.

Fingers crossed you find something that works really well for you -we have ours crossed here for an improvment.

[Tim'sMum]

Tims mum no everyone has the money - I am looking at about $20000 to fix my rottweiler (well POTENTIALLY they cannot guarentee) as all 4 legs need doing. Then there is the daily physical therapy, the medications, the multiple vet visit etc and i am not putting my dog through that.

ALso what most people do not realise is that femoral head excisions etc are not always guarenteed for dogs over 15kg. My rottweiler is 45 and thin as a rake (he could easily grow to 55 + if he didnt have HD) so what if it makes him worst? Or he cannot get up at all?

He went from being carried out to pee to running about by himself with natural therapies. He's not on any veterinary products at all he's on human supplements as they're easier for me to afford.

Surgery I dont think should be the immediate first step if it is managable without.

I can understand the cost aspect of surgery....all too well. I was just thinking that trying to fix a problem such as HD with alternative therapy might just leave a dog in pain unnecessesarily?

I am all for some alternative therapies, if they work, and can keep a dog pain free and I have used a Chiropractor (a human one) with one of my dogs.

I wasn't being critical of the OP, just asking why they hadn't taken the surgical option.

[sandgrubber]

thanks everyone =) all the suggestions are great, and i'll be putting most of them to use!

a bit of a silly question...but would using a product like glyde (which can help in pain relief) encourage him to overexercise himself more, which may in turn cause more damage...? As he's still young i'm hoping to minimise further damage but being a border collie....well, they're a pretty hyperactive bunch . A walk in the park isn't complete for him without a chase with his friends, which i'm really worried will hurt him more

I placed a dog with major elbow problems. The owners have slimmed her down to near skeletal form and give her a low dose of non-steroidal anti inflammatories twice daily. She's as good as gold at 6 yrs. Wouldn't know she had OCD. I would assume the same might work with HD. The decrease in pain and increase in exercise seems to have a positive effect.

[Nekhbet]

I am all for some alternative therapies, if they work, and can keep a dog pain free and I have used a Chiropractor (a human one) with one of my dogs.

exactly - if they work. If they didnt work we would have put Diesel out of his mysery but nothing ventured nothing gained.

As I said, nothing wrong with giving it a go before diving straight into major surgery it can take a little while but you have to be strong and not let them lapse back into their 'oh it hurts a bit I'm going to lie down today' as well as you wean them off the meds. I realised how dependant dogs can become on the pain killers my Diesel is like an addict - he had a couple recently and he went combing for the rest, then harassed for another when I stopped them. He's not in that much pain but he also needed enough pain to tell him enough running about you have a sore leg.

[Rebecca vet nurse]

Hi all

My (almost) 4 yr old BC has just been diagnosed with "moderate to severe" HD and arthritis in both hips. He's never shown any symptoms prior to this winter so I'm reassuring myself by saying he hasn't been in pain before this, but the sudden onset has taken me by complete surprise .

I've done a search on the forum but must be doing something wrong as I can't find any info on what people do for alternative treatments - however I know there are threads that exist (somewhere in the vast space of the dol forums ). He's been placed on an initial 10 day course of Rimadyl with the option of Cartrophen injections later on and possibly, a year down the track, femoral head reduction surgery. If possible, I would like to do as much as I can for him without taking the surgery option - as non invasive as possible would be my preferred approach.

So i guess i want to hear everyones stories with dogs who have HD

Did you adopt any dietary changes that you felt helped? (Boy won't continually eat raw for more than 3/4 days (and i've tried everything under the sun!), so complete BARF diets are out of the question). What kibbles do you feed that have helped (there are so many that claim to help joints!)?

And, what alternative therapies such as acupuncture etc have you tried that you believe are useful? I'm located in Baulkham Hills in north west Sydney, but I'm willing to travel if it will help him.

And do you feed any nutritional supplements?

thanking you in advance for any help ;)

Have you considered stem cell therapy for your pups HD? Although stem cell therapy will not change your BC anatomy, there are natural anti-inflammatory and pain relief capabilities in the stem cells that are found in adipose tissue. Many dogs with HD have now been treated with this technology and have done really well. I think it is a good idea to try rimadyl and cartrophen before considering a femoral head excision surgery, but stem cell therapy is another option to consider which can reduce or completely eliminate the need for long term medication.